Posts Tagged ‘Intellectual Property’
Startup Funding: Apply for BlueIron Non-Dilutive Funding
BlueIron provides non-dilutive startup funding. BlueIron provides $60K or more non-dilutive startup funding for companies with great inventions. Our model is to invest in the full cost of getting patents for a company, including international (PCT) filing and expediting the patent through the United States Patent and Trademark Office. We fund companies *before* angel or…
Read MoreUSPTO Abandonment Rate Nearly Tripling Since COVID
Patents are being abandoned at historically high rates, pointing to a lack of confidence in the future. An updated analysis by BlueIron shows that the COVID crisis has markedly affected business’s IP strategy. A previous analysis done in March is here. The abandonment rate has shot up since COVID started, especially for Small Entities, which…
Read MoreEffects of COVID-19 on Patents – Twice The Number of Abandonments
As companies hunker down for the effects of the COVID-19 virus, they are abandoning their IP protection at TWICE the normal rate. And it is likely to go up much further. AND this has never happened before. BlueIron’s study looked at recent USPTO abandonments to see what, if any, effects were from COVID-19. The results…
Read MoreThe Patent System is Broken – but not in the way you think it is.
The patent system has some weird quirks that makes it feel broken. In truth, you do not want to know how the sausage gets made at the Patent Office, and patent laws are all weirdly nuanced with few bright lines. That is just the way it is. The real problem is the patent applicants, not…
Read MoreWhat to Consider When Filing Patents Internationally
Updated 1 Jul 2021 Most Foreign Patents are a Vanity Project Many entrepreneurs like to go after foreign filings. The normal course of business is to file a PCT application, then enter “national phase,” typically about two and a half years later. (“PCT” means Patent Cooperation Treaty, often mistakenly called an “international patent application.” The…
Read MorePatents Are Call Options On Technology
The only way for your patent to be valuable is to bring a product to market. This post was published on Medium. You can read it here. This post is an excerpt from my upcoming book “Startup IP Strategy.” A call option is an option to purchase a stock at a defined price. It is…
Read MoreShould I File A Provisional Patent Application?
You should never file a provisional patent application. Ever. In every case, a small company or independent inventor is better off by filing a complete, well-written, non-provisional patent application. One of the biggest hoaxes in the patent community is that provisional patent applications are a good thing. They are not. (You can learn more at…
Read MoreFoundation of Investment Grade Patents
Foundation of investment grade patents is serious due diligence. Getting solid, investment-grade patents is less about finding the gem as much as removing the dirt so that there are more possible gems in the portfolio. We do not know which patent will ultimately be the gem, but we can dramatically increase our chances by removing…
Read MorePatents Are Similar to Stock Options
Patents are similar to out-of-the-money stock options. Patents are an inherently risky investment and have lots of similarities to options trading. This is because they have value only when the market comes to them. At the time you purchase an option – and at the time you create a patent – you must place a…
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